Milanovich now must find a way to continue his team’s dominance over the Stamps, a team the Argos beat twice this season and have won five straight against.

“They present a lot of challenges. Their defence is dynamic. They bring a lot of pressure with a lot of different coverages,” Milanovich said. “They have the best offence in the CFL. They’re explosive. They’ve been the hottest football team for the last 10 to 15 weeks.”

Hufnagel said Toronto has become a good football team in all three phases of their game (offence, defence and special teams) with an explosive Chad Owens and a healthy Ricky Ray playing his best football of the season.

“They have great skill across the board. It’s going to be a great challenge for our defence with Ricky Ray being healthy and playing tremendous football,” Hufnagel said. “I don’t think we’ll be able to contain him. So we have to score points to have a chance to win this game.”

In the last two playoff games, the Argos have had horrible starts, trailing by at least a touchdown each time before rebounding. Milanovich doesn’t want to tempt fate a third time, particularly against one of the fastest-starting teams.

“You certainly don’t want to. I’m not going to say that if we get behind the game is over,” Milanovich said. “We’ve done it before. But we’re a resilient team that keeps playing until the end. We definitely would like to start a little faster.”

Five years ago, quarterback Kevin Glenn led the Winnipeg Blue Bombers to the Grey Cup but didn’t play because of a fractured forearm. Now, he gets the start because Drew Tate is out with an injury. But Milanovich said Glenn is just as dangerous a quarterback as Tate.

“Kevin gets very streaky. He’ll complete 14 in a row. He’s not given credit often enough for his mobility. He can extend plays. He can make a first down running or find a receiver. It was a great move by Calgary to have him there in case something happened to Drew. Our guys have a ton of respect for him as do I. I’ve been beaten by him a number of times.”

Hufnagel said Ray’s ability to read defences, and throw with pin-point accuracy makes him dangerous on every play.

“I saw enough of him in the green and gold (of the Edmonton Eskimos). He’s not going to give up,” Hufnagel said. “When he was wearing the green and gold, he would find a way to extend the play by either running for a first down or finding a receiver like that (Fred) Stamps guy in the corner of the end zone.”

The fact that Toronto teams have beaten Calgary teams five straight and twice this season has no bearing on Sunday’s game, Milanovich said.

“It means absolutely nothing. We hadn’t beaten Edmonton either this season. Once the playoffs start, you can throw everything out,” Milanovich said. “We’re both different football teams than when we played before and there is no question that Calgary is the hottest team in the league. We know we’re playing our best football right now.”

More on thestar.com

We value respectful and thoughtful discussion. Readers are encouraged to flag comments that fail to meet the standards outlined in our
Community Code of Conduct.
For further information, including our legal guidelines, please see our full website
Terms and Conditions.